This invention relates to food processors, and more particularly to rotary food cutting tools for food processors having a cutting surface which may extend over a full radius of the tool accommodating the accompanying feed tube which may also extend over the full radius of the tool and thereby permitting the processing of larger food items in food processors which heretofore were limited by the restrictive dimensions caused by the centralized position of the hub head which limited the size of the cutting surface as well as the corresponding radial width of the feed tube.
The present invention is applicable to food processors of the type having a working bowl with a motor-driven tool shaft projecting upwards in the bowl on which various selected rotary food processing tools can be engaged to be driven for performing various food processing operations in accordance with the desires of the user. A detachable cover is secured over the top of the bowl during use. The cover includes a feed tube having a mouth that opens downwardly through the cover into the top of the bowl. The food items to be processed are placed in this feed tube, and then they are manually pushed down through the feed tube into the bowl by means of a removable food pusher which is adapted to slide down in the manner of a plunger through the feed tube. Further information with respect to such food processors may be obtained by reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,892,365--Verdun; 3,985,304--Sontheimer; and 4,127,342--Coggiola.
Of particular interest to the present invention are the rotary cutting tools which are used for slicing, dicing, cutting, grating, etc. of food items such as potatoes, onions, carrots, cucumbers, celery, cabbage, squash, beets, etc. Such rotary cutting tools have a horizontal disc-like member formed of sheet metal, preferably of staniless steel which is mounted on an elongated hub extending down into the bowl of the food processor and which is coupled on the lower end thereof to a motor-driven tool shaft in the food processor. Such prior art rotary cutting tools are mounted to a centralized head or top of the hub such tht the axis of rotation of the motor-driven shaft coincides with the axis of rotation of the hub on the disc-like member. Accordingly, the surface of the cutting edge on such a prior art disc-type tool, whether it be a slicing blade, or other cutting implements, can extend only outside of the centralized hub out to the perimeter of the disc, which restricts such cutting edges to only part of the radius of the disc. Since the length of the cutting surface is restricted by the centralized hub, the radial width of the feed tube must also be restricted to be significantly less than the full radial size of the disc-like tool. Therefore, larger food items having dimensions exceeding the limited radial extent of the cutting surface cannot be conveniently processed.